i gave my son his 1'st car in 8/03, an 83 245 GLT in need of a turbo and funding for the purchases.needless to say the boy seemed uninspired to seek employment.well for christmas he now gets his 2'nd 1'st car with a little pressure from the wife.he now has an 83 monte carlo and loves it,still no job hunting, so this car will sit awhile.however,over the weekend i transformed the 245 into 1/2 a wagon load of 960 parts(traded), after unsuccessfully being able to sell the the 'ol wagon and the son tells me of the all the plans he had for the wagon and i know he would have done something with it if only his pockets had $$$$$$ in them,he knows they're becoming rare but i told him we'll try a find a rustfree project.he's tired of car maintainance after only 2 days "this sucks" so maybe this will put a little fire on his --- to start working and make the best out of school.
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83 242 DL -120k, 92-965-167k, 94-965-188k, 83-242 GLT-Gone, but not forgotten,83-245GLT-1'st one -the 1'st 3 currently on the road

spook,i didn't write about rule #41,but one of the parts i grabbed was the W-S-E switch.the tiny bulb on mine was bad and i attemped to solder a replacement bulb to the very small holder and only succeded in melting it.i tryed to procure this light at the dealer and he even called VOLVO and was informed this bulb is not available.he spent 1/2 hour on this little bugger.this is the 1'st part i couldn't order from the dealer.i like to have all lights working (inside and out).dave
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83 242 DL -120k, 92-965-167k, 94-965-188k, 83-242 GLT-Gone, but not forgotten,83-245GLT-1'st one -the 1'st 3 currently on the road

spook,i have my family in bricks primarly for the safety factor,you are right about spare body parts.the 960 parts i got were mostly electrical parts,ecu's,cooling fan,wiper motor,switchs,icu,....ect.after a very serious accident i was in (while driving a bmw)volvos became suddenly appealing.i will suffer my injuries the rest of my life i'm just trying to put myself and family in the safest cars i can. i have learned that a car IS just a car and can be replaced,not so in the human realm.i'm confident if i weren't driving the bimmer i wouldn't be here but i feel volvo's are even safer!
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83 242 DL -120k, 92-965-167k, 94-965-188k, 83-242 GLT-Gone, but not forgotten,83-245GLT-1'st one -the 1'st 3 currently on the road

Dear DM960,

Good a.m. and may this find you well. To those sceptical about driving Volvos - and so unwilling to meet the upkeep costs - because of Volvos' lack of pizzazz, it might be worth pointing out:

- driving is our only daily activity that necessarily involves death danger (at least, for those who are not farmers, fishermen, miners, construction workers, in law enforcement/military, boxers, etc.)

- driving is our only daily activity (see above exclusions), where we may be hurt or killed by someone else's error or negligence

- cars do not feel pain, humans do

- spare parts for cars are plentiful but spare parts for people are scarce (especially face components)*.

Thus, while Volvos - espeically the 100-900 series - are not fashion statements, they are cost-effective life insurance, because they are designed to protect the occupants.

All the Best for a Good, Healthy New Year: for you, your family, and your cars!

Yours,

spook

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*
Spook's Rule No. 41:
(a) It is hard to get spare parts
(b) It is hard to find persons, competent to install spare parts
(c) Spare parts rarely work as well as original parts
(d) For some parts, there are NO spare parts
(e) Take care of the parts you were issued.

ihave a 20 yr. old also but she has shown responsibility and we have helped her out along the way, as in working and helping pay the upkeep on her 242. it's not the car she wants but it's dependable and i know deep down she really likes this car.it's all in the attitude in what you get out of life.
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83 242 DL -120k, 92-965-167k, 94-965-188k, 83-242 GLT-Gone, but not forgotten,83-245GLT-1'st one -the 1'st 3 currently on the road

Our daughter(16 1/2) got her license about 2 months ago and we agreed to get her a car as long as we got to pick it out. She ended up with a '90 740 gl that I picked up from a charity donation center for a song. The car has high mileage but runs very well and looks VERY good. She loves the car(cd player/stereo we threw in helped there). It should last her a long time with all the pm we are doing to it. We live in Ma. and insurance costs are very high but she is paying a sizeable portion of the insurance bill and for gas out of her income from a part time job. Hopefully this will teach her about $ management sooner than I learned. Btw, she started helping me with some of the maintenance when I need an extra hand.


Dan

I got my Volvo when I was 17. Parsents said they would help me by a volvo and that was it. I wasn't sure that I wanted a Volvo initially, but know that I do have one I wouldn't want to do with out one. I like the boxy shape of the car and the fact that I can actually work on the car!

I can relate! Having two teenage boys... yeah! Attitude... looking at reality through a McDonalds straw and picking out the parts they don't like!

Finally, at 18, my oldest has his first car... a nice Ford Contour, '95. He scored a great deal from a friend's dad who was going to give it away to charity. But still he's barely got enough money to fill the tank. He finally got a job in a pizza place to pay the insurance, because I'll be damned if I'm going to pay it! (btw, he turned down a 82' Volvo Diesel station wagon from the grandparent .... way too klunky and uncool)

Maybe after a year of working just keep the car going, he'll wise up. But in general I find being a 'teen parent' to be one of life's less enjoyable experiences. I'll spare you the gruesome details, cause I'm sure you got lots of your own!

It is astonishing that lots of parents seem to set up their high school children in $20k cars. I think they're trying to pay off the guilt of divorced families or something.

hi there my son 16yrs 10months. has my favorite brick. 85 244 and he can start driving it when he starts working. well i take it for a spin on sundays. he says he dont want to work he wants to be a kid. so i let him. work is a little over rated and once you start, well u know what happens then. he says he is going to be a rock star. and i would never tell him he wont because i can not predict the future. b.t.w. he loves the car. o well better get to sleep. have to get up early you know. :-}

Let me know how it works out. My son is at the same stage, likes to drive 'em but assumes mom/dad should deal with those pesky bills for gas/insurance, etc. His sum total investment so far has been a gear shift knob in the shape of a skull (with red eyes). "It looks cool." Yeah, right.
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Bob Kraushaar '94 945T, '91 940T(retired), '88 240, '84 242Ti, '94 F-150, '88 300TE, '89 560 SL, '68 Shelby GT-500 KR

haha its all about the shift knob
i didnt have a job my senior year in high school other then construction on the weekends and summers. it was great......i was broke as a joke all the time but eh oh well.